Day 20 of the Night Heron kayak build.

Day 8 of building a Night Heron kayak and the forms are finally on the strongback.

I’ve started building a Night Heron Greenland kayak. I’m posting daily updates on my IG feed. If anyone is interested I can post updates here too. #kayak #boatbuilding

The gibbous moon over Mount Yotei this evening. 🌖

Frogspawn and salamander spawn in a big puddle near my house. Hokkaido, Japan.

ISS transiting the Sun here in Hokkaido a few hours ago. Pretty happy with this considering I used a telescope I made with mostly junk and cheap AliExpress parts and an iPhone held up to the eyepiece. 114mm Newtonian Dobsonian. Couldn’t have done it without transit-finder.com. 🔭 ☀️

Blink and you’ll miss it. Tiangong, the Chinese Space Station, passing in front of the Sun this afternoon. Once at full speed and then slowed down to 1/8th speed. (It’s very small, you might not be able to see it on a small screen. Moves horizontally right to left just below center of Sun. 🔭 ☀️

Our local star. I bought a cheap solar filter from AliExpress. I don’t trust it with eyes but I do trust it with my iPhone. 114 mm Newtonian dob, 40mm eyepiece. NASA picture on the right for comparison. 🔭 ☀️

An iPhone picture snapped through the eyepiece of a homemade 114mm Newtonian telescope of Jupiter and the Galilean moons compared to the calculated image from thskylive.com. Isn’t science amazing! This picture was taken about 40 minutes ago in Hokkaido, Japan. 🔭 🧪

Disappointing to hear astronauts promoting Bronze Age superstitions about magic sky fairies whilst using advanced science and engineering to travel safely around the moon. #artemisII 🔭

This is really hard to see but I captured the Chinese Space Station passing in front of the moon this evening. I used my budget homemade telescope and an iPhone. The video is slowed down and is inverted so the space station moves from bottom left to top right. 🔭

I just finished building my cedar strip canoe and so today was launch day. Design is the Solo Day by Ashes Still Water Boats. Beautiful warm day at Lake Toya in Hokkaido, Japan even though there is still snow on the surrounding hills. #canoe #woodenboat

Single day Solargraph. This was an experiment in using a slightly larger pinhole. Trees are less in focus but the path of the Sun is very clear. 🔭 ☀️ #pinhole

Two week Solargraph made from a Danish cookie tin pinhole camera and ILFORD photographic paper. Hokkaido, Japan. 🔭 ☀️

Worst lunar eclipse ever! Almost total cloud cover. This is the best shot I could get. 🔭

Despite 95% cloud cover, sub zero temperatures and strong winds, I just watched Regulus disappear behind the moon with my homemade telescope! 🔭

I took a picture of Jupiter and the four Galilean moons earlier this week with my homemade telescope. I can see two cloud bands on Jupiter and maybe the Great Red Spot if I squint? 🔭

1 week Solargraph in Hokkaido, Japan. I’ll try to set another up in this location for a year. This was made with an empty Fanta can, pinhole, ILFORD photographic paper and black tape. 🔭 ☀️ 🌞

Pinhole Solargraph. 4 week exposure leading up to the winter solstice using an old aluminium Fanta can as a camera and ILFORD photographic paper. Hokkaido, Japan. #photography #art #pinhole #lofi

Pinhole Solargraph of the 4 weeks up to the solstice. This is the best one yet I think. Looking forward to seeing the six month ones I’m setting up right now. 🔭

Almost finished building a cedar strip canoe. Still need to finish making the seat and varnish everything.

One week Solargraph next to Hangetsu lake, at the base of Mt. Yotei, Hokkaido, Japan. Really happy with how this one turned out, especially the reflection in the partially frozen lake. It’s great we were able to leave it undisturbed in a place where so many people visit. 🔭 ☀️

The moon a few minutes ago from Hokkaido. 🔭

Dear Santa, this is what I want for Xmas! citizenbrick.com/collections/...

The moon, Saturn and the International Space Station lined up between the trees just now. Hokkaido, Japan. 🔭

The moon is looking beautiful this evening. 🔭

New pinhole Solargraph! This one was in place for a week. Had a few really sunny days and then lots of cloud. Am I going to do a month long and year long one? You’d better believe it! 🔭 ☀️

My best picture of Jupiter yet with my homemade 114mm Dobsonian telescope. Also Europa below and Io and Ganymede above. So cool to see cloud bands on another planet! 🔭

I made a pinhole solargraph with an aluminium drink can, some black tape, a pin and a sheet of ILFORD photographic paper. This image shows the path of the Sun over the course of a day and the trees in front of my house. 🔭 🌞

I very luckily captured a shooting star as I was taking a picture of Orion with my iPhone! 10 second exposure, iPhone 16Pro. Hokkaido, Japan. 🔭

My first picture of Jupiter and the 4 Galilean moons with the homemade telescope and some moon pictures. All taken with the 17mm eyepiece and 2xbarlow. 🔭

The moon a few minutes ago taken from Hokkaido, Japan with my homemade budget 114mm Dobsonian and an iPhone. 🔭

Tonight’s moon grabbed between clouds with my homemade budget telescope and an iPhone. 🔭

I built a ¥3,000 (US$20) solar projector telescope with some cheap lenses from AliExpress and some scrap ply. My image of the Sun isn’t quite as clear as the one from the NASA SOHO spacecraft (3rd picture in case you weren’t sure) but it was much less expensive! This was a fun little project! 🔭 🌞

I got to see and photograph the Pleiades last night with my homemade telescope. I was able to match up all the stars named in the free version of Stellarium and captured a bunch more too! I think the purple spot is a reflection from the eyepiece of the iPhone laser rangefinder. 🔭

I’m so happy to get this image of Saturn a few minutes ago with my homemade 114mm Dobsonian and an iPhone 16 pro held to the eyepiece! 🔭

I got this Obi-Wan Kenobi 20 Years of LEGO minifigure along with another purchase on eBay. I didn’t want to take it out of the bag but I did want to build it so I put it together in the unopened bag. The lightsaber was the hardest bit to get in place! #lego

This evenings moon from Hokkaido, Japan. I’m still blown away with how much I can see with my budget home made telescope. I used the night cap app instead of the normal camera app and I think it gives better results. I also got my best ever view of Saturn but it was impossible to photograph. 🔭

A while back someone posted an image of Popular Science magazine from January 1928. I was able to find a copy online (for a crazy price!) and it’s just arrived. It’s even more beautiful in real life and there are some fascinating articles! I don’t remember who posted about it but thank you! 🔭

I didn’t stay up to 3am to see the lunar eclipse last night but I did get to see some lovely views of the moon before I went to bed. 🔭

Help me Astronomy people. Has anyone ever used a live remote telescope to give a talk to school students? I’ve never used a remote telescope before but I thought it would be really great to show live views even though it’s daytime where we are. Not sure how feasible this is? 🔭

My new 3I/ATLAS t-shirt just arrived! 🔭 💫

It’s so beautiful! HDSP-2531 display full of retro-futuristic ’70’s goodness!

Tonight’s moon and Saturn. Not the best picture of Saturn you’ve seen but not bad for an iPhone held up to a homemade cardboard tube and scrap plywood telescope! It was amazing to see it through the eyepiece. Wish I could get a better picture. 🔭

I made a little movie player for an ESP32.

Tonight’s moon from Hokkaido, Japan with my homemade budget telescope. 🔭

Day 2 of building a canoe. Today was just tracing out the 13 stations onto tracing paper ready to make patterns.

It is time to start building another boat.

Getting some minifigs together for a diorama.

I reworked my 3I/ATLAS t-shirt to be a little more subtle. If you know, you know. This is the colour I’ll be wearing! Japonica.online 🔭